This article originally published in Self-Service World magazine, Dec. 2007.
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| Dick Trask, director of public relations, Scala Inc. |
Dick Trask is one of the primary movers behind Scala, a company whose software powers many of the world's digital signs. It's a company with a long and storied history, and Trask has been around long enough to see many of the changes the digital signage busiÂness has gone through in the past 10 years.
> 1. Tell me, in a nutshell, the history of Scala.
Founded in 1987, Scala was a pioneer in the digital-signage industry. Today, it is one of the world's leading providers of software for creating digital signage networks. Scala is based near Philadelphia and has wholly owned subsidiaries in the Netherlands, France, Norway and Japan.
> 2. What was the company's original focus? And when did that focus evolve into what it is today?
Scala's roots are in the cable TV industry. Running on the Amiga platform, Scala software was employed at local and public television channels across the world. In the mid-1990s, Scala saw a potential market for out-of-home networks that could address the demands of both retailers and corporations — digital signage. Today, with the cost of infrastructure, hardware and screen technology being a fraction of what it was just a few years ago, the digital signage as an industry has become a reality.
> 3. What does the name ‘Scala' mean?
Originally, Scala software was developed in Norway. The word "scala" means "stairs" in Norwegian. I am not sure the relevance this holds to the company's business objectives.
> 4. How many copies of the Scala software would you estimate are in the field?
Scala maintains about 50,000 players driving approximately 200,000 screens around the world. In 2006, Scala sold digital-signage solutions in more than 60 countries.
> 5. What are some of the most interesting implementations of the Scala software?
Scala's InfoChannel product suite is used for digital media networks in retail, education, entertainment, government and other industries for diverse applications. Some interesting applications include Netherlands-based RoboBank‘s use of InfoChannel to modernize its bank properties, and Burger King, Germany's digital menuboards, which integrate its static signage promoting upsell items and a second channel that provides music videos and sporting events to encourage customers to come into the restaurant.
Other interesting installations include IKEA, Bloomberg, T-Mobile, Virgin MegaStore, EuroDisney, Kiwi, McDonald's, Warner Bros., Ericsson, Rikstoto, Repsol, Shell, NorgesGruppen and The Wall Street Journal Office Network.
> 6. Scala recently issued a major upgrade; what were some of the biggest changes?
Scala InfoChannel 5 was a ground-up restoration of our previous product line, InfoChannel 3. InfoChannel 5 represents the next generation in digital signage solutions.
The principal product of the new platform, InfoChannel 5 Content Manager, exemplifies this new generation of digital-signage software with new product features that benefit a customer by streamlining workflow, reducing administrative costs and improving signage quality.
> 7. What's the one feature your customers ask for the most, and when do you think it might see the light of day?
In InfoChannel 3, the mode of operation was to create a script (content) and send that script to a Network Manager that assigned the content to a specific player. This technique was inefficient for large networks with multiple content playlists and multiple players.
For networks like these, the most-requested feature was a better way to manage and distribute their content. Customers wanted to create playlists from assets created inside of Scala or from their own asset pool. They requested a means to plan their content in such a way that each playlist could be assigned to different time segments including hours, days, weeks or even months. They wanted the content manager to manage the distribution of the content throughout the network and maintain the integrity of the network.
We've put all of this in the new InfoChannel 5 Content Manager.
> 8. Tell us about your partner network and how it works.
The Scala Certified Partner Network is comprises more than 600 A/V companies, integrators, infrastructure providers, content providers, hardware manufacturers, screen manufactures and network operators in more than 60 countries that are certified by Scala and reselling Scala InfoChannel.
The obvious benefit of the network is the many "feet on the street" the network provides to Scala's sales initiative. Each of the Scala Certified Partners (SCPs) are managed by Scala Channel Managers located in Scala offices in the U.S., U.K., France, Netherlands, Norway, China and Japan.
The equally important and critical aspect of the Scala Certified Partner Network is that it is not only facing our customers, but SCPs provide services and products to each other. For example, if a content provider is building a network for a customer, the SCP can reach into the Scala Certified Partner Network for hardware, screens and other products and services needed to fulfill the customer's requirements.
> 9. Scala has been in business a long time. How different are retailers' attitudes toward in-store technology from, say, five years ago?
You are correct; Scala is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Five years ago, only the innovators and early adopters, such as Tesco in the U.K., would consider implementing digital signage. The technology wasn't proven and the risks were very high — not to mention the investment to implement a digital signage network was considerable.
Today, with the investment cost shrinking and the acceptability of the technology in the retail marketplace growing, the implementation of digital-signage technology in retail spaces is becoming more pervasive. While the industry is not yet at the point of unbridled implementation, the number of retail customers has grown significantly — second only to Scala's largest vertical market, the entertainment industry.
> 10. What's next for Scala?
Scala is focused on providing end-to-end software solutions for centrally controlled digital signage networks used in customer- and employee-facing applications in industries that include retail, banking, quick-service restaurants, gas stations, public spaces, hospitality and entertainment venues and more. Supporting both interactive and passive content, which can be delivered across satellite or terrestrial broadband communication networks, Scala InfoChannel platform is in a league of its own. Scala aims to continue driving more displays around the world than all its competitors combined.
